Close to Home: Marion Faller Holdings at the George Eastman House International Museum of and Film

By Tal-Or Ketura Ben-Choreen BFA, Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario, 2012

A thesis project presented to Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada and George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film, Rochester, New York, United States of America

in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the program of Photographic Preservation and Collections Management

Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2014 © Tal-Or Ketura Ben-Choreen, 2014 Author’s Declaration

I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis. This is a true copy of the thesis, including any required final revisions, as accepted by my examiners.

I authorize Ryerson University and George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film to lend this thesis to other institutions or individuals for the purpose of scholarly research.

I further authorize Ryerson University and George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film to reproduce this thesis by photocopying or by other means, in total or part, at the request of other institutions or individuals for the purpose of scholarly research.

I understand that my thesis may be made electronically available to the public.

Signed: ______Tal-Or Ketura Ben-Choreen

II! Abstract

Close to Home: Holdings of Marion Faller’s Work at the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film Master of Arts, 2014 Tal-Or Ketura Ben-Choreen Photographic Preservation and Collections Management Ryerson University and George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film

Marion Faller (1941-2014) was a photographer and educator; this thesis explores her body of work through the collection of her at George Eastman House International

Museum of Photography and Film. Hey Baby, Take My Picture, 1972–1975; Second Flora,

1977–1979; Time Capsule, 1979–1981; Neither Nor: A Primer, 1988; and a grouping titled

Contemporary Work, 1987–1999, represent Faller’s independent practise. Included in the thesis is a discussion of the collaborations Faller produced with her partner, experimental filmmaker

Hollis Frampton (1936-1984), Vegetable Locomotion, 1975; False Impressions, 1979. The thesis provides a detailed account of Faller’s work through an explanation of the collection’s formation, literature review, chronology of Faller’s life, and detailed catalogue records.

! III Acknowledgements

The success of my thesis is due to the collective support and encouragement I received throughout my research and writing process. I am most grateful for my first reader, Bruce R. Elder, who guided me to many sources. A heartfelt thank you to my second reader, Dr. Lisa Hostetler, who suggested many new paths when I faced issues throughout the thesis process. I thank both Elder, and Hostetler, for their dedication to my research and quality of writing in my thesis. I am much obliged to Will Faller, for providing such a special understanding of his mother, and for allowing the publication of her work. Thank you to the many staff members of George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film. In particular, I am indebted to: Jessica Johnston for introducing me to Faller’s work; Jamie A. Allen for providing insight into the acquisition; Will Green, Rheytchul Kimmel, Ross Knapper, and Nick Marshall. Many thanks to the countless members of Image Arts Faculty at Ryerson University, who cultivated my education, and always pushed me forward. A special thank you to my thesis committee members, David Harris, Don Snyder, Dr. Thierry Gervais, and Izabella Pruska- Oldenhof. Acknowledgement must be made of the many people who shared their knowledge and contacts with me: Gerald O’Grady, Bruce Jenkins, Roger Bruc